The more the hockey pioneers talked, the more vividly my childhood memories arose. The camaraderie in the dressing room. The pride of starting a play that ended in a goal.

On Wednesday night, the Otonabee-South Monaghan Historical Society welcomed 82 people — its largest crowd ever — for the History of Girls’ Hockey. Past players, coaches and founders added their voices to a night that celebrated the bonds of sports.

The first players took to the ice in the 1960s when athletes borrowed skates and other gear from their brothers and fathers to play on the river. The sport moved indoors in 1971, thanks to Pat Young’s advocacy.

As her daughter Connie Huffman shared, Young requested ice time from the arena committee in 1971 after 13 softball players decided they wanted to find a winter sport as well.

“The arena was built for boys in mind and the ice time is for them,” the committee’s........

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